Just as Su Wen was about to speak again, Du Yue suddenly interrupted,
"Husband, what if… there is one more woman who wants to join the family?"
Su Wen: "…"
He silently lifted his gaze toward the sky.
'Is this why husbands go bald early?'
Then he gave her a flat stare.
Du Yue instantly shrank back, her face flushing red.
"Husband, I was just asking… you know… for educational purposes…"
Su Wen stared at her blankly for a moment, then sighed in complete defeat.
"You silly wife, do you think I'm some fisherman? That I just throw out some bait and women bite like fish?"
Du Yue replied without missing a beat,
"If I'm a fish, then I'll always bite your bait."
Su Wen turned to her, his expression growing strange, and replied dryly,
"Wifey… I'm not recruiting sect disciples. I'm happy with one wife. Getting another is already impossible… pure delusion."
Du Yue smiled and immediately turned her face away in embarrassment.
After a short pause…
"Husband…"
"No," Su Wen replied instantly.
Du Yue: "…"
'I didn't even say anything yet…'
She was about to speak again, but Su Wen cut her off once more.
"No."
Du Yue: "…"
Silence settled between them. Du Yue relaxed in his arms, while Su Wen finally let go of the earlier turmoil caused by her relentless interrogation.
After a while, she asked softly,
"Husband, what did you want me to do earlier? Sorry, I forgot… we were discussing such an important topic."
Su Wen's eyes twitched. He reached out, cupped her face, and gently pinched her cheeks, squishing them like a soft potato.
"I'll bring you with me. Don't worry… your husband's got your back."
She didn't quite understand what he meant, but the moment she heard those words, her lips curved into a bright smile, blooming like a little flower.
With a thought, the two vanished from the mountain peak and reappeared on a narrow mountain trail… where Du Yufeng was buried up to his neck. Su Wen calmly waved his hand, removing the formations surrounding him.
Immediately, a loud wail erupted.
"Bastard! Let me go! I'll kill you… ah! Fuck! It hurts! Let me go!!"
Du Yue froze when she saw who it was.
"H-Husband… this…"
Du Yufeng's eyes locked onto his daughter. His body trembled uncontrollably. Not only was she unharmed… she looked healthier than ever, her complexion radiant.
"Daughter…" he croaked.
Su Wen also opened his mouth to speak.
"Don't worry…"
"No, Husband!" Du Yue interrupted him.
With only his head sticking out of the ground, Du Yufeng cried out desperately,
"Daughter, save me!"
Su Wen crossed his arms and said calmly,
"Wifey, this bastard was spreading lies about you in town. So I brought him here to face justice. You're the only one who gets to decide his fate."
Du Yue hesitated.
"No… Husband…"
Seeing her wavering, Du Yufeng wailed even louder,
"Daughter, I'm sorry! I'm your father! Please, save me!"
Before he could continue, Su Wen interjected in a steady voice,
"I'm here. You don't need to worry about anything."
Du Yue stammered, her voice shaky,
"No, Husband…"
Then, before anyone could speak again, she turned to Du Yufeng. There was no hesitation… only pure disgust in her eyes.
"Husband," she asked seriously, "Why did you plant him here? What if he grows into a tree?"
Silence.
Su Wen: "…"
Du Yufeng: "…"
Seeing their blank expressions, Du Yue hurriedly turned back to Su Wen, trying to explain herself.
"Husband, you shouldn't have planted him here. The ground and air of our mountain will be contaminated by this… this scum."
She clasped her hands together and looked at him nervously, as if afraid he might refuse.
"Husband, can you please take him out of our home? Pretty please…"
Du Yufeng stared at his daughter, completely speechless even at death's door, watching her act so chummy with the man who had buried him alive.
Su Wen glanced at Du Yue, then looked up at the sky again.
'And here I am, worried about healing her Dao Heart…'
He had already lost count of how many times he'd looked up at the sky today.
Finally, he spoke, his tone calm and unhurried.
"I thought you'd be sad when you saw him. I was worried it might give rise to inner demons during your tribulation. So I caught him and brought him here, so you could personally deliver justice."
He pointed at Du Yufeng lazily,
"And no, I didn't plant him here to let him grow into a tree."
Du Yue looked at her husband and finally understood what he meant.
'So he was worried about my Dao Heart… afraid this man would become a heart demon for me…'
She couldn't help but smile inwardly. 'Hehehe… my husband is so cute.'
The cocoon now bore massive cracks, light from the outside clearly seeping in. It felt like it only needed one final push to shatter completely.
She spoke softly and lovingly, completely ignoring the old man buried in the ground.
"Husband, as long as you're by my side, my Dao Heart will stand firm and never break. Everything I have starts with you… and ends with you."
Then she pointed at Du Yufeng, her expression no different from looking at a pile of filth.
"As for him, I've already forgotten he ever existed in my life."
She thought for a moment, then added honestly,
"Actually… I only want to remember everything after I escaped to the mountain. Anything before that is useless trash. My life only truly began after I met you…"
She said the last words shyly.
"Husband, quickly take him off the mountain. Be careful not to dirty the earth here. If he stays any longer, he'll just keep polluting the world."
Su Wen felt warmth spread through his chest, mixed with a strange sense of pride.
'My child…cough cough… my dumb wife has really matured…' he thought silently.
The two of them spoke as if Du Yufeng didn't even exist.
Su Wen nodded calmly.
"Alright, wife. Let's take him out and use corpse-melting powder. We'll make sure nothing of him remains in this world."